LIVERPOOL council house repair workers staged a demonstration outside their depot today in a bid to save their pension rights.

LIVERPOOL council house repair workers staged a demonstration outside their depot today in a bid to save their pension rights.

It comes after Enterprise-Liverpool, the private firm which manages the service to the city's 21,000 properties, pulled out of a contract to repair homes owned by Cobolt Housing Association.

On Friday, 38 workers were told that from today they would be employed by a new firm hired by Cobolt to carry out the work but have no guarantees their pension rights are protected.

John Winstanley, Ucatt convenor at Enterprise-Liverpool, said the workers had been randomly allocated to the new companies - BSS, Bitson and McKenzie and PH Jones contractors.

A spokesman for Enterprise-Liverpool said the Cobolt deal had been ended because it cost around £15,000 a week. He said: "The staff affected will be determined in accordance with relevant legislation, based on the work carried out by them on Cobalt homes."